The city-states along the eastern coast of Africa made ideal centers of trade. As trade intensified between Africa and Asia, prosperous city-states flourished along the eastern coast of Africa. <span>The city-states traded with inland kingdoms like Great Zimbabwe to obtain gold, ivory, and iron. These materials were then sold to places like India, Southeast Asia, and </span>China<span>. These were Africa’s exports in the Indian Ocean Trade. These items could be sold at a profit because they were scarce in Asian countries.</span>
